


A Trial Run

by duskblue



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: !exboyfriend Ron, F/M, Fanon Draco, HP: EWE, Post-Hogwarts, Ron is sort of a jerk, mentioned - harry/ginny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-09
Updated: 2016-02-09
Packaged: 2018-05-19 07:44:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5959273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duskblue/pseuds/duskblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Draco runs into a shaken Hermione at a bookshop in Diagon Alley. </p>
<p>Rated T for later chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Trial Run

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is going to be way longer than I planned when I first started writing it. So please subscribe/bookmark if you're interested! Thanks, all! <3

Blackwood’s Rare and Hard To Find Books was located at the very end of Diagon Alley and one’s only companionship there, besides the books, of course, was a snoozing Mr Blackwood and quite a few particles of dust floating around the shop. So when Draco walked inside to look for a particularly hard to find book, he was expecting peace and quiet.

Okay, yes, it was quiet, but it certainly wasn’t peaceful. He had felt the air shift the second he stepped through the doorway, the little bell ringing over his head. The ring of the bell hadn’t woken Mr Blackwood, who was, as usual, sitting on a chair behind the counter with his head back and snoring softly, but he definitely felt the tension in the room change.

The door clicked shut, and Draco looked around. The shop was dimly lit that evening and all the books seemed to be in the exact same place as they were the last time he had been there two months ago. But something wasn’t right. He could feel the presence of someone--or something, nearby.

That’s when he heard it. The distinct sound of a book being slid back onto a shelf and the sniff of a nose. Another customer--perhaps--was also in the shop. He had always been the only customer in the shop, so he regarded it as suspicious and silently crept around the bookshelf towards where he had heard the sound and slowly peeked into the corner.

Standing there with her hand on the spine of a book and looking at him with a deer in the headlights expression was none other than Hermione Granger. Okay, so it figured that the only other person in such an obscure bookshop would be her. It just annoyed him that now he would have to speak to her.

“Hey,” he said in a low voice, sticking his hands in his pockets and emerging from behind the bookshelf.

“Hey,” she said in the same fashion and then turned back to the shelf.

Should he strike up a conversation? Should he comment on the weather or ask her what book she was looking for? He must have been standing there pondering this for too long, because she turned to look at him again. And that’s when he realized that something was off. Really off. Her eyes were puffy and red, and in fact, the whole of her, looked a little disheveled. 

“Do you mind?” she said, narrowing her eyes at him, her voice a little biting. 

He ducked back behind the bookshelf and stared at a tattered copy of a really old book before swallowing hard, taking in a breath, and stepping back out into the aisle with his chin up. “Actually, I do mind. We’re both customers. I can stand here if I damn well please.”

She gave him a withering look, shoved the book she was holding back into the shelf and then turned on her heel before disappearing to the other side of the shop.

He stared after her. Stupid girl. Wasn’t she always the one who stuck up for the rights of everyone? She should have known they were both allowed to stand in the same aisle. Ridiculous. So he went back to finding the book he was looking for, which was conveniently out of order and wedged between two large books on a lower shelf, and then moved to the counter to pay.

That’s when he saw her again. She was sitting on an old plush chair by the counter where he imagined people sometimes sat to look over a book before they bought it, only she wasn’t holding a book in her hands. Instead she had pulled up her legs and was looking down at her lap, her massive hair completely hiding her face.

He set his book on the counter hard enough that it made a thump, and then waited until she looked up at him. “Are you okay?” he asked against his better judgement. “Shouldn’t Weasley be hanging around here pestering you about taking too long looking at books?”

Her expression suddenly changed, and the woman who had been once quiet and still, sat up straight and gripped the arms of the chair, her face turning red and angry. “It’s none of your business, Malfoy! Buy your book and leave me the hell alone!”

This speech disturbed Mr Blackwood’s slumber, and he coughed on a snore and sat up in his chair. “Good evening, Mr Malfoy!” he said to Draco who was standing directly in front of him. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

“Ah--” Draco glanced over at Hermione. He definitely didn’t expect to find her, though he had found his book, so he smiled with a nod and pushed the book towards the shop owner. “Yes, just the book I wanted.”

Mr Blackwood returned the smile and then took the money that Draco had held out to him. “Thank you for your business, Mr Malfoy, and remember, if there’s ever a book you can’t find, let me know, and I’m very good at tracking things down.”

“Of course.” Draco watched Mr Blackwood bag his book and then took the bag from him. He was about to turn away, but he felt Hermione’s eyes still on him so he looked back down at her. Mr Blackwood had turned to write something on a parchment on a side counter, so Draco took a step closer to her. “You never answered me. Are you okay?”

She looked away. “Why do you even care?”

He took in a breath and let it out. Women were so frustrating. Especially her. “Trust me. If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t have asked. Well, at least not the second time.” He muttered the last part. “So did Potter forget that you exist, or did Weasley say he likes Quidditch more than you?”

Fresh tears sprang to her eyes, and she wiped them away quickly. “Harry and Ginny are on their honeymoon so I wouldn’t be surprised if they forgot about me, and Ron--well maybe he does like Quidditch more than me.”

For a moment, Draco wasn’t sure what to say. So Weasley had dumped her, huh? Not only did he already think that Weasley was a complete and utter idiot, but he was surprised that Hermione had stayed with him for more than a week. “Aw, come on,” he said, a little surprised at himself that he was attempting to comfort her. “You can’t really be sad about Weasel. The guy is absolutely worthless. You’re definitely better off without him.”

She sniffed and glanced up at him. “He’s not worthless. And how am I better off when he’s the one all cozy in our flat, and I’m sitting here in a bookshop in Diagon Alley talking to you of all people?”

“Wait, wait… hold up.” He set his bag against the counter and held up his hands. “Are you telling me that that asshole broke up with you and then kicked you out of your own flat? Really?”

“He didn’t kick me out.” She wiped at her eyes again. “It was me who didn’t want to stay.”

Draco blinked at her. “He should have left! Are you kidding me? He has a giant Weasel family to stay with!”

“Well, he wasn’t leaving, so I left.” She looked away from him again, but relaxed a little back into the chair. 

“Don’t you have anywhere to go?” He pressed on. “All those Gryffindor friends that you hung around with at school… don’t any of them have a spare sofa for you to sleep on?”

She sighed and leaned on her elbow. “I don’t even want to tell them right now. Also… I haven’t really spoken to a lot of them in a few months. Things have been sort of crazy…”

“Oh.” He watched her while she stared towards the front of the shop. Did she plan on spending the night there? Maybe Mr Blackwood wouldn’t even notice. He picked up his bag, taking a step towards the door, but then hesitated when he felt a tug at his emotions. He was going to walk away and leave her there--but he couldn’t. So he sighed and turned back around. “If you need a sofa to sleep on, I have one. Or two. I actually have a guest room that’s currently unoccupied.”

She looked up at him with wide eyes and appraised him. “I’m not a lost puppy, Malfoy.”

He rolled his eyes. “Obviously. Not lost--homeless. But temporarily. Come on, we don’t even have to talk. I won’t ask you any questions about Weasley, and you can leave when you find somewhere better to stay. But you can’t sleep here, and you definitely can’t sleep in the streets.”

“Who are you to tell me what I can and can’t do?” 

Mr Blackburn, who had fallen asleep against the side counter, sputtered awake again and looked at his pocketwatch. “Oh my, it’s past closing time. Out the two of you go! Come again soon!” He came around the counter to shoo them away, and Draco and Hermione made their way to the door.

“I guess it’s not just me who thinks you can’t sleep there,” Draco said once the door was closed behind them.

She took in a breath of the cool night air and then let it out shakily. “Okay, fine. If you don’t mind me sleeping in your guest room for one night, I guess I’ll have to take you up on that offer. As long as you keep your promise about no questions.” She stuck her finger into his chest, hard. “And no name calling. Not just me, but Ron and Harry, too. Leave them all out of it.”

He held up his hands and stepped away from her index finger. “Yeah, it’s a deal. Though I’m not sure who you are to be making demands right now…”


End file.
